Al Capone (pictured above). Instead of having Capone whacked, Torrio made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: a partnership. The two had many profitable years together before Torrio retired and left the Windy City

by Louis Ferrante, Former Mafia Associate

The Mafia is the longest running corporation in history. It thrives along with other organizations during prosperous times and flourishes even more in periods of economic decline. Bear or bull makes no difference to the Mafia.

For all the well-deserved criticisms of the Mob’s violence, its most successful members have always been remarkably astute businessmen — they have applied their street smarts to legal enterprises and earned millions doing so. In fact, the Mafia is just like any other major organization in America, raking in billions a year in profit. But few people realize that every large crime family is comprised of many individual Mafia crews that are run just like small businesses.